


Back in Time

by Lilylloid



Category: Dragon Quest Series, Dragon Quest V
Genre: Gen, Hero goes back to the past, Hero is named Gou, Hero's daughter is Sora, Hero's son is Ten, good thing his kids save the day, hero is a little sad, minor Hero/Bianca
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:20:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27061822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilylloid/pseuds/Lilylloid
Summary: A look inside the hero's head as he steps back into the Santa Rosa of his childhood.
Kudos: 6





	Back in Time

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry for the very unoriginal title

He can smell it in the air. It's like entering an old abandoned house where dust gatheres on top of every surface. The smell of dust, of time long past.  
That's how he knows where he is, even before he opens his eyes.

Santa Rosa, as it was before his years in the temple. Before he and Papas left for Reinhart, never to return again.

He feels like he's floating, like he hasn't completely materialized. But when he looks down to himself, his feet are firmly planted on the ground.

He takes a deep breath, half expecting dust to clog his throat but the air is clean. It had always been, in Santa Rosa.

Slowly, gingerly, he steps towards the entrance. The old guard who had been intently staring at the tree ahead of him turns to him and flashes him a smile "hey, it's not often we get to see a new a face around here! Welcome to Santa Rosa!" and instead of stepping through the gate, Gou takes his time to ask him how he is doing, asks about his plans. He learns he has a daughter, out in Reinhart.

He talks to the arms merchant, listens to him complain about his wife. He walks around every corner of the village, listens to these poeple talk to a stranger like an old friend and he feels like coming home. And he feels like crying.

He walks towards his old home, sees the silouhetes of two children drawing in the dirt with a stick and remembers Bianca trying to teach him words she couldn't even spell right and swallows the lump in his throat.

He turns his back to the house and takes a look around the village. Thinks about the villagers, the young man shivering beside the well, the young lady walking by the water, the tip of the church where he knows some children go play, the kind priest hiding them below the small table, not betraying anything beyond a small fond smile.

He wonders about them, about where they are in his time. Whether they're alive or not.  
He turns back around and steps inside the house, eager to forget that line of thought.

It's exactly as he remembers it. Sancho is puttering around the kitchen and when he looks up to him, a stranger inside his master's house, he offers him a welcoming smile.

"If you're looking for Master Papas, he's upstairs", his eyes roam Gou's face and there's a flicker of recognition in them "are you, by any chance... never mind" and he returns to his chores with a shake of his head.

Gou takes the steps one at a time, slowly, and they creak under his weight, just as they did when he was small. He knows his father will be sitting on the table, haunched over his plans.

That's exactly how he finds him.

He doesn't look up, doesn't even blink, too lost in whatever he's reading that he jumps a bit when Gou clears his throat.  
Papas lifts his head up and Gou's struck. He's looking at his father and he wishes it didn't feel like looking at a stranger's face.  
Papas is saying something but he's trying his hardest to commit every line, every ridge, every scar to memory, hoping he wouldn't forget them again.  
He concentrates on his voice, doing his best to memorize that as well, and that's when he notices the silence.

Papas is staring at him expectantly.

Gou apologizes and Papas brushes it off, asking him if he needs help with something.  
He hadn't the shadow of a doubt that if he, as a stranger, had asked him for help, the old man would've done his best to deliver.

He feels the prickling of tears in the corner of his eyes and blinks to keep them at bay. He thinks of telling his father who he is but when he opens his mouth, all that comes out are pleas for him to not go to Reinhart.

"Ah, you're one of those prophets?", Papas shakes his head, a small amused smile streching on his lips, "I'm sorry but I'm not one to believe in prophecies", he marks a pause in which he looks into his eyes.  
Gou feels 6 again and he's ready to beg.

"Your eyes reminds me of my wife's eyes... Though I will not refuse the call of Reinhart's king, I shall heed your warning". And he's back to looking at the books, silently dismissing him.

Gou knows better than to bother his father when he's working, one of the few things he remembers in the midst of the ones that blurred with time. Papas turns the whole world out when he gets serious and he doesn't spare him more than a dissmissive grunt.  
Yet, Gou is tempted to stay. Tempted to pester in a way he was too disinterested to try in the past.

But now he knows this is the last he'll see of his father. The last time he'll hear his voice.

He swallows another lump and turns around, despite himself. He doesn't really register his feet moving him down the steps. He hears Sancho bidding him goodbye and wishing him luck but he presses on and out into the evening sun, vision blurry with unshed tears.

He was never religious, something he may have taken from his father, but he crosses the bridge and steps inside the church.  
He prays for his father's soul. Prays for Bianca's safety, until he gets to where she is. Prays for his own children's well being, thinking of the heavy burden the world had untrusted them at such a young age.  
The nun talks to him. He absently notices how she seems a bit red in the face but he doesn't spare her more than a smile before heading out.

And there he is, crouching on the side, eyes level with the saber cub, just a few meters away from where he stands.

It's a bit of a strange feelings, looking at yourself from years past.

The 6 years old boy is engaged in a full conversarion with Borrongo, who answers in purrs and groans as if he could understand what the child was saying and the child laughs, happy and carefree.

He steps closer until his shadow alerts the boy of his presence. The boy straightens up, throwing him with a smile that he returns despite how uneasy it feels to be looking at himself.

"Are you here to see Papa too?", the child asks, head tilted. A step behind him, the cub imitates his little friend.

Gou doesn't really know what to say to that, to himself.

So he asks the kid what he thinks of his papa and is pleased to hear the pride and awe in his voice. The child is in the middle of telling him about his best friend from Alpaca, about how they saved the day in an old haunted castle, when he mentions the orb.

Gou wants nothing more than to sit down and reminisce on those happy memories that had all but faded into the back of his mind, but he knows why he came back and so he asks about the orb, and the small child, deeming him trustworthy, hands it over with enthusiasm.  
He feels a little bit of guilt for betraying the child's trust, as he switches the orbs, but he knows it's for the best.

And just like that, he had accomplished what he had come back for. Already, he could feel the scenery starting the blur, like waking up from a dream.

The child doesn't seem to notice the world around him fading. He just looks at the man before him, curious.

"Are you okay, mister?"

He wishes he could tell the child that everything would turn out okay. Wishes he could shield him from all the hardships that have yet to take away that shine from his innocent carefree eyes. But all he can offer are a few words he can cling to in the worst moments.

"No matter what happens from now on, you have to stay strong, okay?"  
And the child's face stretches into a smile and his "Yeah, I'll do my best" wraps around him as he closes his eyes and feels the world around him shift out of focus.

When he opens his eyes, he is back to his time, back in front of the painting and he reaches for it again. Because his father's face is getting blurry and his voice is fading, and that's when he feels the warmth on his other hand.

There is a small squeeze and when he looks down, his daughter, his little angel is smiling up at him comfortingly.

"You don't have to tell us anything, but we're here for you".

And Ten is there too, small arms wrapped around his waist the best he can, chin levelled on his hip as he grins up at him.

It feels like his world had been put back into place after being tilted for so long, holding his daughter's hand, listening as his son talks about how weird it was to see him get inside the painting.

They're carrying the weight of the world on their small shoulders and yet, Ten is laughing, and Sora is swinging their joined hands like nothing could disturb them in that moment. Like whatever weighted on them, they could worry about when it became a pressing matter.  
He thinks back to his old self, thinks of that smile as he promises to never give up and then looks into his children's eyes, and he knows they can do anything.  
They will save Bianca and they will save Martha and they will save the world. 

So long as he's got them, he knows **he** can do anything.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading !


End file.
